NYMT Trolley Operations - June 1, 2008

[DNRY122]

I rode one of these cars at NYMT in 2007, and many years early, rode them when visiting Philadelphia. It's been a long-running project, but NYMT has finally joined the ranks of operating trolley museums. It's not easy to find, but are well worth a visit. Another Strafford car, 165, has been converted to gas power (propane into a GMC 454 V-8; hydraulic drive to one truck) and runs in the streets of El Reno, Oklahoma.

[Cordicron]

One of the fastest rides I have ever had was on a fantrip using a 2 car train of Strafford Cars. We went non-stop from Norristown to 69th Street on a Sunday afternoon in about 25 minutes! What a thrill, better than any amusement park ride.

[RDG484]

That's nothing. I once rode a late-nighter with No. 168 from Norristown to 69th St. in *16* minutes, at speeds up to 75 MPH. No. 168 was the only 60 car to have a speedometer.

[Raylroad72]

they have a strafford car running at the museum in East Troy WI, # 164.

[genjlcgettys]

There's just a sort of dignity affixed to trolley cars that buses cannot even approach.

[rgvrrm]

The cars were originally built for the Philadelphia & Western RR which served the Philadelphia, PA area. The railroad is now a part of SEPTA (Southeastern PA Transportation Authority). They served most of their service life there with a little stint in Keokuk, Iowa where they were used briefly before coming to the NYMT.

[rgvrrm]

No. Both the 161 and 168 are Brill built cars. 161 was built in 1927 and the 168 in 1929.

[RDG484]

They are HIGH-SPEED ELECTRIC MULTIPLE-UNIT PASSENGER CARS and nowhere near a Birney STREETCAR.  Originally they had bulkhead doors and high-mounted headlights, but were later modified to the appearance shown here to make them more aerodynamic plus their motors were rewired from 65 to 100 HP, which increased their top speed from 45 to 70 MPH so they could more easily keep up with the faster Bullet trains on the P&W.

[RDG484]

Nice to see a Strafford car running. I used to go out every Saturday afternoon when I was in my teens and ride one or two roundtrips to Norristown on a "60" car as the guys who ran them used to refer to them. When they would get up to 65-70 MPH it was a real thrill. One thing I have to say is that beleive this or not neither the Bullets nor Straffords were ever referred to as "trolleys" only until after the SEPTA takeover in 1970. Prior to that they were always referred to TRAINS.

[Hammondlover2]

Nice to see the trolley running!